The first Upper Arlington football club team was established in 1925. After evolution, tradition, excellence and hard work, the current UAHS football team is commemorating its 100th football season this 2025-26 school year. Current head coach Justin Buttermore has been at UA for six years and counting.
“I’m proud to be a part of the tradition. UA football has such a great longstanding tradition and a ton of success over the years, long before I got here, and certainly, we try to improve on that every year. Our kids and our coaches are really proud to be part of the 100th season,” Buttermore said.
The current team, having over 100 players across four grade levels, brings the community together every Friday night for a game. Michael Schaefer, the team’s offensive line coach, believes football games at the Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium are special.
“It’s not just a game, it’s an entire event,” Michael Schaefer said.
Friday night football games typically attract around 1,000 people, including players, students, family, fans, alumni, the band, cheerleaders and many more. The Upper Arlington community is one of the primary contributors to the team’s success.
“Countless people have poured into this high school and this community for this program to grow into what it is… [and] generations of coaches and players have worked really hard for Upper Arlington to build and to grow,” Michael Schaefer said.
Buttermore, Michael Schaefer and other coaches have preserved tradition and continue to elevate the team each year. They described how the relationships players gain throughout their football careers make it memorable.
“I remember wins…I remember losses. The biggest thing is the relationships… my best friends are from college and the teammate relationships I built,” Michael Schaefer said.
Michael Schaefer’s goals are to lead the team to success and help prepare the players for their future.
“I want to help make an impact in their lives and be outstanding football players, but even more importantly, great husbands, fathers, business owners and leaders in the community years from now,” Michael Schaefer said.
The UAHS football team takes pride in their tradition. Every week, the team starts with ‘good things Monday.’
“They recognize great or good things that their teammates did the previous week. They try to find big accomplishments or things that their teammates did,” Buttermore said.
In-season games are when the community views all the talent UAHS football has to offer, but from an inside perspective, off-season training is where their success begins.
“We try to work really hard in the offseason…we expect a lot [out] of our kids and try to build our kids to be bigger, stronger versions of the athlete they are by the end of the season,” Buttermore said.
Not only does off-season training build the team’s strength, but it also builds relationships through the support the players receive from each other. Senior Bo Schaefer feels the team is an outlet of support.
“We go through a lot of hard stuff with each other starting in the off-season, like getting up four days a week to go lift in the morning and stuff after school, it’s not the easiest, but when you’re around those guys, it makes it easier and more enjoyable,” Bo Schaefer said.
It is Bo Schaefer’s last year as a player on the team, and he’s proud to be a part of the legacy created over the previous 100 years.
“It’s pretty cool that we’re the 100th team, and with my dad being the coach here for a long time, I’ve grown up in the program, so this program means a lot to me, and it’s really cool to celebrate and be a senior on the 100th team,” Bo Shaefer said.
Through their hard work, the players bond with each other and share countless memories throughout each season. Nolan Miller, a sophomore and varsity safety, explains the team’s dynamic.
“We go hard, but at the end of the day, we are all working towards the same goal,” Miller said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are: you make an impact.”
The shared goal and motive to work hard together allows for the UAHS football program to elevate its standard each year. Tradition is only one of many contributing factors to their success.
“We try to uphold tradition. Tradition is great and gives us support… but just because we have a great tradition doesn’t mean we’re going to win the next year. We still have to put in a ton of hard work,” Buttermore said.
